Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development
892-IV's development of a Roman Empire is a classic example of Hodgkin's Law.]] Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development was a well-regarded 23rd Century attempt to explain the anthropological and sociological evolutionary development of planets that bore remarkable similarities to Earth. It was developed by Hodgkin prior to 2266 but lost credibility around the turn of the 24th century. Hodgkin's "law" indicated that M-class worlds with humanoid life could, under certain circumstances, develop cultures, nations, institutions, languages and personalities that corresponded to similar developments seen on Earth, until intervening factors led to a divergence. Indeed, the Federation starship [[USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)|USS Enterprise]] (NCC-1701) visited at least three planets that matched the Hodgkin's criteria, developing much like Earth before divergence: 892-IV, Miri's planet and Omega IV. A substantial number of other worlds, discovered before and after the three exemplars, seemed to be encompassed by the Hodgkin's boundaries to a great extent; but either the point of divergence was too distant past to ascertain a meaningful correlation, or the correlations were found to be the result of happenstance inconsistent with Hogkins's criteria, A prime factor in the widespread rise of humanoid life throughout the Milky Way Galaxy, the Ancient Humanoid seeding of DNA codes throughout the primal oceans of uncounted worlds 4.5 billion years ago, was discovered in 2369. Hodgkin could not have predicted this revelation, and it fundamentally invalided the law. Other post-Hodgkin discoveries that proved Earth's development had been manipulated, were easily (some, likely) repeatable: Earth visitations by aliens taken for Gods, the Preservers conservation efforts, Gary Seven's patrons, and the proliferation of time travelers all served a alternate hypotheses for the origins parallel planetary development. As a predictor or analytical tool, Hodgkin's Law no longer has practical value. However; identifying those worlds that met the original boundaries of Hodgkin's criteria, those "shades of grey" that nearly qualified, and those failed entirely; creates a classification of worlds that to some degree were influence by, or influenced, developments on Earth. Earth Parallels 892-IV A good example is 892-IV, a planet identical to Earth in almost every aspect, where a Roman-styled society had developed. The main difference was that, unlike Earth, their "Empire" continued to flourish well into their 20th century. (TOS: "Bread and Circuses") Miri's Planet The USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) discovers a planet that is an exact copy of the Earth (the name of the planet is never mentioned). It has the same mass, circumference, density, atmosphere, flora and fauna. Even the topology is identical. Beaming down, the landing party of Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Rand and two security men discover architecture like that of Earth, circa 1960. The girl Miri and the other inhabitants are human, had a culture similar to that of 20th century North America, but are infected with a deadly disease that prolongs childhood and kills adults. (TOS: "Miri") Omega IV Omega IV is an earthlike planet where centuries ago, the Yang fought a terrible bacteriological war against the Kohms. Yangs were culturally parallel to Earth's 20th century "Yankees" and the Kohms were culturally parallel to Earth's Asian Communists. After the wars the civilization was destroyed and the Yangs were forced out of the cities into the deserts and hills. The Yangs learned to wear animal skins, adopted stoic mannerisms, and learned how to use the bow and lance. They began living like the Native Americans, and eventually looked like them. The Yangs worshiped such icons as the American flag and the United States Constitution, and their invocation was a garbled version of the Pledge of Allegiance and their holy words. (TOS: "The Omega Glory") Vulcan Parallels Mintaka In 2366, the Mintakans were beginning to move away from religion and mythology into a more logical worldview, similar to the Vulcans. (TNG: "Who Watches the Watchers?)" Cultural Contamination Planets and societies that resemble others due to extra-planetary interference, such as the Nazis of Ekos, are not examples of Hodgkin's Law of Parallel Planetary Development, but are instead examples of Cultural Contamination. One of the intentions of the Prime Directive is to prevent such contamination. Background Information This law, like the Klingon Augment crisis (which explained why Klingons in the 23rd century lacked cranial ridges), was an attempt by the writers to explain the lack of make-up and special effects on Star Trek: The Next Generation. However, it was largely disregarded, or at least forgotten about, from The Next Generation onwards. The explanation for the similarities between Humans and many alien species bears a number of similarities to non-canonical explanations of the mirror universe. In several novels and comic books, writers have attempted to define a point at which the mirror universe and our universe diverged, given the overwhelming similarities in physical appearance of people and places.